• Bosch presents the world’s smallest MEMS acceleration sensors for wearables and hearables
• Easily integrated sensors with voice activity detection

In hearables, smartwatches and other wearable devices, space is precious and requires compact components. At the same time, OEMs are looking for plug-and-play pedometers and sensors with integrated functions that enable easy implementation without specific application knowledge.
To meet these requirements, Bosch Sensortec presented the world’s smallest MEMS acceleration sensors at CES 2024: BMA 530 and BMA 580.

Both sensors offer integrated functions for easy development. While the BMA530 with its pedometer is optimised for wearables, the BMA580 with its voice activity detection is aimed at hearables. Compared to the current Bosch acceleration sensor generation (BMA253), the BMA530 and BMA580 have a 76 per cent smaller footprint. The height is reduced from 0.95 mm to 0.55 mm thanks to an innovative Wafer Level Chip Scale Package (WLCSP). Its small size enables easy mounting on printed circuit boards, while its advanced features make it easier for developers to integrate into their wearable products.

Sensor platform for full-body motion detection

Unlimited access to a personal feedback coach? That’s the dream of many fitness and gaming enthusiasts. With the brand new Smart Connected Sensors platform, Bosch Sensortec ensures that movements and repetitions are not only measured, but that the user also receives qualitative feedback on the execution of movements. The new platform has been specially developed for the holistic recording of body movements and offers a fully integrated hardware and software solution that drastically reduces development costs and time-to-market. Corporate customers looking to integrate sensors into their designs often face time-consuming and complicated tasks, where multiple devices need to be combined and customised to create the required hardware and software system. Currently, there is no sensor solution on the market that offers wireless and ready-to-use feedback for full-body movements. To meet this need and save developers valuable time and effort, Bosch Sensortec now offers corporate customers a complete package:

BHI380, a programmable IMU-based sensor system with AI functionality. A wearable reference design (CE, FCC, ISED, MSIT, SRRC, MIC, NCC, UKCA certified) that can be easily attached to any part of the body without the need for cables, an external camera or special suits. Software functions such as gesture and activity recognition, body movement recognition, relative body angle detection and feedback coach.

Wide range of applications in rehabilitation, fitness and gaming

The possibilities are almost unlimited. The main areas of application are rehabilitation, fitness and gaming under the motto “Move. Prove. Improve.” The Smart Connected Sensors platform provides users with detailed feedback to help them perform rehabilitation exercises correctly at home and thus support a faster recovery. For highly reactive gaming applications, motion sensors provide intuitive and precise control to track even the smallest movements. In sports and fitness applications, motion sensors can be used to track full-body movements, for example to provide detailed feedback on the execution of high-intensity exercises. The sensors communicate wirelessly via Bluetooth Low Energy so as not to restrict the user’s freedom of movement.
Thanks to the platform principle, the system can be connected to numerous devices such as wearables, hearables and AR/VR headsets. Engineers will find the Smart Connected Sensors platform easy to use and scale, as they can easily integrate additional sensors and functions into their existing designs. Importantly, the platform allows up to eight nodes with different Bosch Sensortec sensors to be connected to a central node, including inertial sensors, magnetometers and pressure sensors.
“For Smart Connected Sensors applications, our new platform significantly reduces the effort for developers, allowing them to shorten time-to-market and focus more on their core competences,” says Stefan Finkbeiner, Managing Director and CEO of Bosch Sensortec.
The sensor platform provides qualitative feedback based on integrated AI functions and comes with a pattern creation software tool that helps customers customise their system design. With this tool, the customer remains in control of their data as no regular data exchange with Bosch Sensortec is required.